On New Year’s Day, President of Finland Alexander Stubb released the video below and said: “Finland’s and Europe’s relations with the United States are in a state of transition. We must get used to this new situation.”
The pro-Ukrainian Finnish President noted that while “cooperation is indispensable on both sides,” he also admitted “we do not always see eye to eye with the United States.” Stubb added: “Finland’s security is based on a strong defense, NATO and EU membership.”
Happy New Year 2026!
My New Year’s speech can be read at: https://t.co/N4bmu63049 pic.twitter.com/ASJ8XO7T7C
— Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb) January 1, 2026
Former President and Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin’s current deputy chairman of the Security Council of The Russian Federation, today mocked Stubb on social media.
Medvedev, who is strongly against NATO and views the alliance’s expansion and actions, particularly regarding Ukraine, as direct threats to Russia, wrote: “Some guy called Stubb says Finland’s relations with Russia have changed forever. Agreed. I hope so too. I hope Russia never repeats the Bolsheviks’ 1917 blunder. Finland’s got to pay for its vile Russophobia. In fact, it’s already paying — Stubb talks, and citizens foot the bill.”
Note: In 1917, during the Russian Revolution, Finland—then a Grand Duchy under the Russian Empire—declared independence on December 6. The Bolshevik government recognized it on December 31, a decision Medvedev views as a mistake. This ended over a century of Russian rule.
Some guy called Stubb says Finland’s relations with Russia have changed forever. Agreed. I hope so too. I hope Russia never repeats the Bolsheviks’ 1917 blunder. Finland’s got to pay for its vile Russophobia. In fact, it’s already paying — Stubb talks, and citizens foot the bill.
— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) January 2, 2026
Several pro-Ukrainian supporters objected to Medvedev’s comments including social media influencer Andrew Perpetua, who has tracked and publicly posted troop and weapons losses during the Russia-Ukraine war. Perpetua replied: “Remember back when Russia was a relevant player on the world stage? I can’t either, to be honest. Just an irrelevant gas station full of peasants.”
And tech entrepreneur and investor Peter W. Kruger replied: “Oh, another mafia style threat from the usual mafia-fascist regime…”
Note: Perpetua also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this past weekend at Mar-a-Lago.
He wrote: “My one wish is that everyone would stop listening to Trump. Stop giving him airtime. Stop quoting him. He’s a senile loser with no grip on reality. Just because he is the president of the united states doesn’t mean you need to report every word he says.”